20mph limit has proved controversial (Image: WalesOnline/Rob Browne)
The 20mph default limit has arguably been the most controversial legislation introduced since devolution started in Wales back in 1999. Its introduction in September 2023 triggered a fierce backlash once drivers realised the extent of the changes being made.
There have been protests and a huge petition with hundreds of thousands of signatures calling for the new limit to be scrapped.
This has been – and remains – a political hot potato with Labour and Plaid backing the default change. Some Tories were also initially supportive before later u-turning.
Both the Conservatives and Reform now pledge to scrap the default limit if they take power in the Senedd elections in May.
There have been changes made since the limit came in due to the backlash.
Councils have always had powers to make some routes ‘exceptions’ where the 30mph limit could remain. But while these were employed extensively by some authorities, others barely used them.
Guidance was changed by Welsh Government and most councils have now added extra exception roads or are in the process of doing so. This has added a few million pounds to the £32m it cost to bring in the new limit. Reversing the legislation would bring similar costs.
Some of the opposition has subsided but that’s not to say there doesn’t remain a strong faction still vehementally opposed.
There is now two years worth of data to show how the new limit has impacted Welsh roads in terms of collisions, injuries and deaths.
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Here we look beyond the hyperbole and breakdown what has happened in North Wales on these key measures since September 2023.
We compare the two years after introduction with two years ahead of the default limit coming in. We are looking at the totals across all speed limits and percentage falls or increases since 20mph was introduced.
We’ll firstly look at the number of collisions. These are lumped together so will range from minor bumps to fatal accidents.
In the year before the default limit came in there were 780 collisions recorded in the region by North Wales Police. The year prior to that saw 843 crashes. This brings a total of 1623 collisions in the 24 months before the limit came in.
The 12 months after introduction saw a total of 555 collisions recorded by police. This went down again in the following year to 521. It means a two year total of 1076.
That is 547 fewer crashes.
Percentage fall/increase: 33.7% decrease in collisions.
Casualties are broken down into minor injury, serous injury and death but to start with we’ll look at total casualty numbers.
In the year before introduction there were a total of 1024 casualties – while the year before that saw 1112.
This brings the total number of casualties across 24 months to 2136.
In the year after 20mph the number of casualties was 784 – this was followed in the next 12 months with 742 casualties. It brings a two year total of 1526.
It means there were 610 fewer casualties in the two years after the introduction of the default limit compared to the same period before it came in.
Percentage fall/increase: 28.5% decrease in road casualties.
The most important factor in bringing in the limit was preventing serious injuries and deaths.
We’ll start with serious injuries. In the year before 20mph there were 242 serious injuries and it was 297 in the 12 months before that. This brings a total over two years of 539 serious injuries on our roads.
The first year after the default limit saw 226 serious injuries – followed by 260 in the next 12 months, a figure actually higher than the year before introduction. The total over two years is then 486.
This means 53 fewer serious injuries.
Percentage fall/increase: 9.8% decrease in serious injuries.
When it came to fatalities on the roads of North Wales there were 27 deaths in the year before introduction and 35 in the 12 months before then. That is a total of 62 deaths on North Wales’s roads over two years.
After introduction the number of roads deaths in the first year was 25 and this was followed by 24 in the next 12 months. It brings a total of 49 over two years.
This means there were 13 fewer roads deaths in the two years after the limit than the 24 months before it came in.
Percentage fall/increase: 20.9% decrease in deaths.
The figures show there is no doubt that both collisions and casualties have fallen since the introduction of the default 20mph limit – this is despite a higher number of journeys in this period as traffic has gradually increased since slumping in the pandemic.
This is good news on many fronts – from the savings this brings in terms of police and NHS time to the fact it is literally saving lives.
The greatest reductions come in collisions and minor injuries – a reflection that the cut in crashes has mainly come on low speed (30mph and under) roads. The impact on serious injuries was less pronounced.
It should be noted that there has been a steady decline in road collisions and casualties over many years. For example in 2018 and 2019 there were 2607 road casualties over two years, well above the figure for the two years before the 20mph limit came in – although that was with slightly higher road usage levels prior to the pandemic. There were 1911 collisions over this 18/19 period – again far higher then the years immediately before the limit change.
Whether the limit is here to stay could depend on the next Senedd election.
